THE CONCEPT OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

Introduction

The eighth commandment mirrors the third commandment in regard to the covenant model. They both deal with ethics or law in this conceptual framework. Since God is the Creator of the earth, this means that He is the ultimate owner of all things. Psalm 24:1 declares, "The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." This means that God has original jurisdiction. Psalm 50:10-11 reads, "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.11I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine." All animals belong to God. Haggai 2:8 says, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts." Everything ultimately belongs to the Lord. We just borrow the earth’s resources for a time.

Application

To properly understand the Bible, we need to use what is known as applied theology.

Exodus 20:15 four words read, "Thou shalt not steal." Once again, this commandment is straightforward. This is a negative command. On the positive side is the recognition that there is private property. What belongs to me does not belong to you and vice versa. Micah 4:4 says, "But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it." Notice here the personal pronouns showing possession. Each man is to have his own possessions. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary’s fourth definition of "property" is "The exclusive right of possessing, enjoying and disposing of a thing; ownership. In the beginning of the world, the Creator gave to man dominion over the earth, over the fish of the sea and the fowls of the air, and over every living thing. This is the foundation of man’s property in the earth and in all its productions...The labor of inventing, making or producing any thing constitutes on of the highest and most indefeasible titles to property. Property is also acquired by inheritance, by gift or by purchase..." In other words, property has to do with ownership. Ownership is a legal concept which ultimately becomes a religious practice.

The eighth commandment is inherently tied to work, productivity, capital, and money. Property is obtained by different methods, but God intends that we obtain the majority of our possession through gainful employment. This leads us to why do men steal? Stealing issues from the heart of man. It ultimately is the desire to get something for nothing or without working for it. Proverbs 20:13 reads, "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." Laziness is one the main reasons for a person having the desire to take someone else’s property. They do not want to put the effort to get something for themselves through labor, so they decide that they will simply take what someone else has labored for. Another example is found in Proverbs 24:30-34, "I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 32Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. 33Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 34So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." Those who love sleep and are slothful are thieves because they refuse to work to supply the needs of their families. They are stealing from their own family members.

The Proverbs are filled with axioms concerning be diligent in labor and the consequences about being indolent. An example is found in Proverbs 28:19, "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough." Here is someone who is diligent in their work and the result is that they have property that will provide for their needs. In fact, they have plenty which gives us the idea of abundance. Hard work produces results and prosperity. Those that follow after worthless people will come to poverty and may in the end of it have to steal.

Proverbs 30:7-9 reads, "Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." Here we have the example of the poor being tempted to steal and take the name of the Lord in vain. This is the tie in between the third and eighth commandments of the covenant model being ethics or law. If you steal, you are taking the name of the Lord in vain by saying that God does not bless those who are industrious in their labors. They are saying that the world is governed by chance not providence.

Conclusion

We as Christians are to be obtain property legally. We are not to take something that does not belong to us. In other words, we are to uphold the concept of private property. What someone has legitimately labored for is theirs to enjoy and dispose of as they see fit. If we want something, we are to labor at honest activity providing for our necessities. To not labor is the workshop of the devil. It is theft.